• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.87-98
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• 2004

Tailings and contaminated soils from Cheongyang mine and Seobo mine have been analysed by ICP-AES from 5-step sequential extraction method of multielement determination on extraction solutions at each step. As and Co within tailings and contaminated soils from Cheongyang mine and Seobo mine are mainly in the residual phase. In case of Cd, Cu and Zn, the most dominant fraction for tailings of Cheongyang mine is the oxidizable phase, while tailings of Seobo mine is dominated by the residual phase. In contaminated soils from Seobo mine, the predominant fraction for Cd, Cu and Zn is the Fe-Mn oxide phase. The exchangeable fraction of Pb in tailings from Cheongyang mine and Seobo mine is relatively high compared with those of other metals; whereas Pb fraction in contaminated soils from Seobo mine is largely associated with the residual fraction.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 1998.11a
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• pp.189-194
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• 1998

Geochemical study was carried out to find out the distribution of metals and cyanide in soil in the vicinity of the abandoned Keum-Jung mine. Chemical analysis showed that content of As in soil around tailings exceeded 15mg/kg, Korean standard of soil contamination in the farm land. That means the contamination of soil by As is due to input of tailings. According to total decomposition of tailings, As was highly concentrated in tailings. However the water in tailings impoundment was changed to acidic and contaminated by metal and sulfate because the tailings in the top of the tailings impoundment had been oxidized. Acid mine drainage contaminated the water course in the vicinity of the paddy soils. The proper measures are required to prevent contamination of the soil and water in the vicinity of the Keum-Jung mine.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.29 no.A
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• pp.55-60
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• 2009

Stabilization treatment is one of processes for wastes and their components to reduce their toxicity and migration rates to surroundings. Inorganic binders such as calcium hydroxide, blast furnace slag and red mud were tested for their potential applicability to in-situ stabilization of heavy metal contaminated tailings in the abandoned metal mines. Columns(150mm dia. ${\times}$ 450mm length) filled with mixtures of inorganic binders and tailing from the Geumjang mine with various mixing ratios of binders to tailings, 5%, 7% and 9% were applied artificial rainfall tests for 28 days. Effluents from columns filled with calcium hydroxide and tailing showed high pH's of ~12.5 and a increasing trend of concentration in Pb and Zn with a significant decrease in permeability in terms of elapsed days. Those with burning slag and tailing showed pH's of ~8.5 and significantly low concentrations in heavy metals with a stable permeability. In case of red mud, effluents showed significantly low concentrations in heavy metals but a decreased permeability with pH's of ~10.5. Conclusively, this basic study suggests burning furnace slag be a potential stabilizer for effective treatment of heavy metal contaminated mine tailings.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.39-47
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• 1997

Geochemical study was carried out to find out the distribution of metals and cyanide in soil in the vicinity of the abandoned Daduck mine and the reason for acid mine drainage occurrence in the tailings impoundment. Chemical analysis showed that content of As in soil around tailings exceeded 15mg/kg, Korean standard of soil contamination in the farm land. That means the contamination of soil by As is due to input of tailings. According to total decomposition of tailings, As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn and S were highly concentrated in tailings. However the water in tailings impoundment was changed to acidic and contaminated by metals and sulfate because the tailings in the top of the tailings impoundment had been oxidized. Acid mine drainage contaminated the water course in the vicinity of the paddy soils. The proper measures are required to prevent contamination of the soil and water in the vicinity of the Daduck mine.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.469-480
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• 2003

Laboratory leaching experiment study carried out to estimate a extent of heavy metals that could be leached out when acid rain(pH 5.0-3.0) and strong acidic solution(pH 2.5-1.0) reacted with tailings and contaminated soils from abandoned metal mines. In slightly to moderately acid conditions(pH 5.0-3.0), As, Pb and Zn dissolutions became significantly increased with decreased pH in tailing, while dissolution of these elements was very limited in contaminated soil. These results suggested that moderately acid rainwater leaches Pb, As and Zn from the tailings, while these elements would remain fixed in contaminated soil. In the pH range of 2.5-1.0(strongly acid condition), Zn, Cd and Cu concentrations of leachate rapidly increased with decreased pH in contaminated soil, while Pb, As and Co dissolutions became importantly increased in tailings. The experimental solubility of Zn. Cd and Cu was very low even at very low pH values(up to pH 1), except for CY4(Cheongyang mine). These can result from an incomplete dissolution or the presence of less soluble mineral phases. So, the solubility of heavy metals depends not only on the pH values of leachate but also on the speciation of metals associated with contaminated soils and tailings. The relative mobility of each element within failings at the pH 5.0-3.0 of the reaction solution was in the order of Pb>Zn>Cd>Co=Cu>As. In case of pH 2.5-1.0 of the reaction solution, the relative mobility of each element within contaminated soils and tailings were in the order of Zn＞Cd>Cu>Co>Pb=As for contaminated soils, and Pb>Zn>Cd>hs>Co>Cu for tailings. The obtained results could be useful for assessing the environmental effects and setting up the restoration plan in the areas.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.30 no.A
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• pp.37-43
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• 2010

Polymeric materials in addition to Portland cement and hydrated limes were used to solidify heavy metal contaminated tailings from five abandoned metal mines in Korea. Mine tailings were mixed separately with Portland cement and hydrated lime at a concentration of 20-30 wt% and 6-9 wt%, respectively and Ethylene Vinyl Acetate(EVA) powder was added to each specimen at a ratio of 2.5 and 5.0 wt% to binders. Polymer-added and polymer-free solidified forms were evaluated for their appropriateness in accordance with the suggested test methods. Regardless of addition of polymeric materials, all solidified forms satisfy the uniaxial compressive strength(UCS) requirements(0.35MPa) for land reclamation and show remarkably reduced leaching concentrations of heavy metals such as As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn less than the toxicity criteria of Korean standard leaching test(KSLT). The addition of polymeric materials increased the UCS of solidified forms to improve a long-term stability of solidified mine tailings.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.28 no.B
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• pp.65-69
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• 2008

The tailings piled in abandoned mines are well-known potential sources of soil contamination. Hydrated limes were applied as cementing materials to solidify heavy metal contaminated tailings for the purpose of reducing their toxicity and migration rates. The optimum mixing ratio of tailings, hydrated lime, and water was determined through a preliminary test. The mixtures of mine tailings and hydrated lime solidified through pozzolanic reaction were tested for their durability against repeated freezing and thawing processes. After repeated freezing and thawing, the uniaxial compressive strengths of all the solidified mixture specimens decreased in comparison with those before test but still higher than $3.5kgf/cm^2$, the standard recommended for land reclamation solids by EPA(Environmental Protection Agency), which suggested that hydrated lime be a potential material to treat the abandoned mine tailings for the environmental purpose.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.808-816
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• 2008

In the present paper, a study has been performed on remediating mine tailings around abandoned mine contaminated with high concentrations of arsenic and heavy metals using the technique of soil washing. Through the removal experiment of arsenic, the optimal conditions in the type and concentration of washing reagent, mixing ratio of mine tailings and washing reagent, and washing time were derived. Results showed that the most effective washing reagents to remove arsenic from mine tailings were oxalic acid(72% removal efficiency) and phosphoric acid(65%), while the oxalic acid(89%) was the most effective in removing the heavy metals containing Cu. In addition, the most economical and efficient washing concentration was 0.25 M and the most suitable washing time was 30 minutes. The optimal mixing ratio of mine tailings and washing reagent was 1 : 20(mass/vol) from the viewpoint of minimization of wastewater produced after the washing, as well as the washing effectiveness. Although the mixture of washing reagents did not help in removal of arsenic, it could lead to much elevated synergy effect on removing Cu and Zn, compared with the single reagent.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.626-634
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• 2005

The objectives of this study was to assess pollution level and contamination status on tailings and soil in the vicinity of four disused metal mines in Kangwon province. As the result of total metal concentrations analysis, the pollution degree of tailings and soil decreased in the order of Wondong > Second Yeonhwa > Sinyemi ${\fallingdotseq}$ Sangdong mines. Total metal concentrations of mine tailings in this study were $1.2{\sim}78.2$ and $1.1{\sim}80.6$ times higher than those in the background soil and the tolerable levels suggested by Kloke, respectively. From these results, we found that tailings served as contamination source of nearby soil. According to sequential extraction of metals, large proportion of heavy metals in all mine tailings existed in the form of a residual fraction, and heavy metals in non-residual form was mainly associated with Fe-Mn oxide fraction and sulfidic-organic fraction. Fe-Mn oxide fraction and sulfidic-organic fraction of heavy metals may be released into and contaminated the nearby environment under the oxidation or reduction condition in long-term. In particular, the proportions of the exchangeable and carbonate fraction of Cd in mine tailings from Second Yeonhwa mine were relatively high. This suggests that Cd may be easily released into and contaminated the nearby environment in the near time. Concentrations of heavy metals in mine tailings and the nearby soil exceeded the standard (agricultural area) of Soil Environment Conservation Law. So it was thought that remediation for mine tailings and the nearby soil is needed. The pollution indices of the samples in this study were for higher than 1.0 and the pollution degree was very serious. Priority remediation site for these mines was Wondong. As Results of danger indices, it was showed that exchangeable form in Wondong and Fe-Mn oxide form in the rest mines should be removed preferentially.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.104-111
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• 2004

Several tests were conducted to optimize design parameters of soil washing technique for arsenic contaminated tailings and soils. Arsenic contaminated tailings and soils have been sampled from the N nine, Kwangwondo and the K mine, Kyungsangbukdo, respectively. According to the result of sequential extraction procedure, total arsenic concentrations were 21,028 $\pm$ 190, 443$\pm$7, and 37$\pm$3 mg/kg, for mine tailings, dry field, and river sedimentary soil, respectively. The subtotal of weakly bonded and easily releasable arsenic concentrations which were 2,284$\pm$100 (10.9%), 151$\pm$5 (34.0%), 15$\pm$3 (39.5%)mg/kg for mine tailings, dry field, and river sedimentary soil, respectively. Kinetics of arsenic extraction using NaOH showed that arsenic was extracted more than 90% after 6 hours for all samples. The optimized concentration of NaOH were 200 mM for all samples while the optimized dilution ratio were different to have 1:10 (mine tailings) and 1:5 (dry field, river sedimentary soil), respectively. Results of sequential soil washing tests using NaOH showed that arsenic concentrations obtained by Korean Standard Test Procedure were decreased to meet the regulation for both river sedimentary soil and dry field while they were not decreased largely for mine tailings, even though NaOH had much higher efficiencies of arsenic extraction than other extractants.